Other helpful information

Frequently asked questions

Maintenance due dates

I don't know my maintenance due date. How can I find that out?

Sign in and go to your profile page. The Certification Maintenance section will include any of your certification(s) currently eligible for maintenance. It will show due date and provide quick links to guide you through the maintenance process.

Kinds of CE or activities that can be used for maintenance

How can I determine if the conference I attended is specialty content and meets maintenance specialty hour requirements?

All CE must relate to your certification specialty area.

The Is My CE Acceptable guide will provide you with a list of specialty topics per certification area. In addition, there is a coding brochure for each core certification specialty that outlines the codes, core competencies and appropriate CE for each. For access to the brochures, return to the Certification Maintenance page.

If the course dealt with any of the topics listed for your certification area, it would count for maintenance. If not, it would not count.

Can academic credit be used for maintenance?

Academic credit can be used to maintain the NCC certification credential. The content of the course must be related to the certification specialty area.

1 semester hour = 15 contact hours

1 quarter hours = 10 contact hours

Be specific in listing course titles, ex. course 104 is not acceptable.

Remember content must relate to your specialty certification area.

I preceptor students, can I use this for maintenance?

Those who precept nursing or nurse practitioners students in their certification specialty area can earn 10 contact hours for this activity. You must precept students for at least one academic quarter, semester or entire clinical rotation if less than an academic quarter or semester. To earn the 10 hours, a letter from the sponsoring institution (on official letterhead and signed by the appropriate authorizing person) must be submitted indicating your responsibilities as preceptor and dates and hours of your preceptor time.* If this time is less than 10 hours, this preceptorship time cannot be used for maintenance. 10 hours is the maximum that can be earned for this activity.

*Online submission does not require the upload of documentation, but you will need to produce if audited.

Precept hours can only be used for baseline hours, not hours designated in the education plan assigned to a specific competency area. Baseline hours are listed as hours that are assigned to any competency area and appear at the bottom of your education plan.

I gave a presentation at a conference, how do I count that credit for maintenance?

Those who present continuing education programs can use the same amount of credit awarded to the participants attending the presentation to maintain their certification. This activity must be outside of the individual certified nurse or NP's current job responsibilities and cannot be an expectation of their current position. Programs presented must earn credit within NCC guidelines. Any given presentation of the same program can be used only once during an individual certification period, even if it is presented multiple times.

I went to a conference with many different specialty content areas. How do I assign a specialty code on the application?

You will haveto estimate the hours for each code. For example, if the program covered 3 codes and was worth 12 hours, you can assign 4 hours for each code or you can estimate the time for each code by assessing the amount of timedevoted to the content related to an individual code.

For generic courses, the course has to relate to the population focus of the certification area. A course on hypertension in pregnancy could not be used to maintain neonatal certifications but would be acceptable for maintaining WHNP certification.

For specialty focused conventions like AWHONN or NANN, use the specialty code that represents the specialty area of most of the presentations attended or if specific specialty content is needed, record only the sessions/presentations that are associated with that code and the corresponding hours.

I went to a conference that had some specialty content and some that was not. Can I use this for maintenance?

For mixed population focused activities, record only those hours that apply tothe population focus of the certification area. For example, If a physical exam course is taken that is neonatal and pediatric-focused, only the hours for neonatal content could be used for maintenance of the NNP certification. The number of hours in the CE activity would have to be estimated that were devoted to neonatal content.

I wrote a journal article. Can I use this for maintenance?

10 contact hours will be awarded to those who have written a journal article or a chapter of a book.

10 contact hours will be awarded to those who are a primary or secondary author of a book.

10 contact hours will be awarded to those who serve as reviewers or writers of an NCC CE module or monograph.

What are the rules for using publications for maintenance?

The publication date of the article/book/module will determine its applicability for your current certification maintenance.

You are limited to using one article, book authorship or service as an NCC Self Assessment reviewer or monograph author per certification maintenance cycle.

Articles/books must be related to the certification specialty area.

Proof of authorship can be established by including a copy of the title page of the article with the title of the article, your name as author and the publication date (not needed if submitted online).

For primary or secondary book authorship, pages from the book that identifies the title, author and publication date must be submitted.

For NCC CE reviewers or monograph writers, a copy of your continuing education certificate issued by NCC indicating your reviewer/writer role may be required.

How do I know the accreditation agency of the conference I attended is recognized by NCC?

Recognized accrediting agencies

NCC through the NCC Self Assessment Program or Pretest Program

State boards of nursing, departments of health or nursing associations

All continuing education programs must be accredited and provide evidence of such in the form of a certificate of completion issued to participants

I put my RN license on inactive status. Is that a problem?

You must have a current unrestricted license in order to maintain. If your license is inactive, you cannot meet the maintenance requirements and your certification will lapse.

I am not currently employed. Can I maintain?

Yes, you can maintain. There are no employment requirements to maintain your certification.

Extensions or missed filing deadlines

I don't have enough CE to maintain, can I get an extension to file?

If you cannot earn enough continuing education credit or retake the examination prior to your expiration date, you can request a one time only three-month extension for your core certification or subspecialty certificate.

This request must be received before your expiration date and requires a $30 service fee. This extends only your time to file and does not change your next expiration date. This is a one time option only. There are no refunds for extension requests.

Using NCC CE modules for maintenance

I completed NCC CE modules for maintenance but I got a notice that my certification lapsed - why?

Purchasing and completing NCC CE modules does not automatically maintain your certification. In addition to earning CE either through NCC or other providers, you must file a maintenance application and pay a maintenance fee.

If you believe that your payment was made, please forward to info@nccnet.org copy of your canceled check or credit card payment (or fax to 312-951-9475) showing payment. With this information, we can further investigate the matter.

I did not get the discount for using NCC CE modules when submitting maintenance online - what should I do?

Modules are automatically posted to your maintenance application when successfully completed. You cannot manually enter them. If they are not posted, it could be you used a module that was not within your core competency specialty areas or completed the module prior to the beginning of your maintenance cycle. Only modules assigned with a code for your certification specialty and as specified by your education plan can be used.

What NCC CE modules count toward specialty hours for maintenance?

NCC modules are assigned codes and are noted in the module description. You can only use an NCC module for maintenance that has an assigned specialty code for your certification specialty and specified by your education plan.

The NCC CE modules I completed don't show up on my maintenance application - why?

Modules are automatically posted to your maintenance application when successfully completed. You cannot manually enter them. If they are not posted, it could be you used a module that was not within your core competency specialty areas or completed the module prior to the beginning of your maintenance cycle. Only modules assigned with a code for your certification specialty and as specified by your education plan can be used.

Filling out the online maintenance application

Do I have to put in all my CE in the online maintenance at one time? Will my information be saved?

The website will save your entries and you may continue to make updates as long as you don't submit your application.

I have put CE activities in my application but they are not counting toward my education plan - why?

This is most likely because the activities are not in the time frame for your certification. You can only use CE for core certifications (RNC or NP-BC credentials) that are earned after you have taken the assessment.

Multiple certifications

I have more than one certification—how do I file?

If you are maintaining more than one NCC certification and/or a subspecialty certificate, you must submit a separate application and fee for each certification/certificate. There is a separate application for maintaining subspecialty certificates. If applicable, you may use the same continuing education credit for multiple certifications. If you plan to maintain via re-examination, you need to take and pass all examinations prior to your maintenance due date.

Filing early

I want to file early. Can I?

You may file at any time up to one year prior to your maintenance due date. You do not have to wait for your specific maintenance due date to file. Two caveats apply to filing early:

The continuing education credit you submit must fall within the current range of your certification period. See the main core certification page for applicable dates.

Your next certification period will not change. You can't start earning CE until your new maintenance cycle starts

For those who hold a core certification (RNC or NP-BC), you can take your CCI assessment for the next cycle up to 3 months prior to the start of your new certification cycle. However, no CE can be earned prior to the start of your new maintenance cycle.

Audits

NCC randomly selects for audit a percentage of credentialed professionals who are due to maintain their certification. All incomplete applications are automatically selected for audit. An audit requires the credentialed individual to submit copies of the program agenda and certificates of continuing education being used for the purposes of maintenance. In addition, the audit requires a license or license verification upload that shows the current expiration date. The notice of audit may come with your notice that your certification is due or you may be subject to an audit after you have submitted your certification maintenance application. If selected for audit and you fail to provide continuing education certificates or fail to meet the deadline to submit additional documentation that would complete your application, your certification will lapse. The audit provides you with a two week window to submit the required documents. Please note that it is your responsiblity to insure all contact information is current in your account so that you receive audit information.

Order maintenance cards or certificates

Maintenance cards & certificates

Maintenance card and certificate are both available for download from your profile at no cost. Official documentation is available for a fee, which includes FedEx delivery. Documents can only be delivered to a street address—no PO Boxes or military addresses.

NCC Press Releases

You can nowsend press releasesto those you wish to inform of successful achievement or maintenance of your NCC credential. This is an excellent way to let your colleagues, supervisor, mentors or other leadership in your institution know of your accomplishment.

You can initiate the press release from your profile at any time but should do so only after you have received official notification that you have successfully completed the certification or certification maintenance process.

This is not a substitute for primary source verifications and you can always download official documentation of your certification or certificate of added qualification from your account.

Need a receipt?

If you need a receipt for any purchase made through the NCC website view order history in your profile. All of your purchases are kept together in an easy to access format for you to view or print at any time. Simply click on a line item to view details and print a receipt.